Have you considered how your choices impact others?
22 Mar 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
Joshua 7
Joshua 8
Luke 2:25-52
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6)?
Have you considered how your choices impact others?
Jericho is conquered, and comparatively small Ai is next. Joshua doesn’t know that Achan violated God’s directive concerning Jericho. Joshua informs us, “Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction” (Joshua 6:17). One man’s disobedience impacted all of Israel. “And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). The consequences of this one man’s sin not only cost innocent lives but also devastated the people. Joshua continues, “Therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water” (Joshua 7:5). Just as the unnamed Corinthian man committing incest needed to be removed (1 Corinthians 5:7), so also must Achan. Leaven is used as a symbol of sin in the 1 Corinthians 5 passage. The man in sin is identified with leaven and must be evicted.
Employment Point: Obey God’s Word, so that you don’t contaminate other lives.
———————-
Reflections
“Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.””
Joshua 7:19 NIV
- living in a time like this, you cannot hide anything and expect to go scot-free. The Lord had already told the people about his commands and Achan still covet the things He was commanded not to. Because of one man’s action, they were rounded by the Amorites and some men were killed in the process.
- This is a fine reminder to us that when we promise the Lord something, we need to make sure we fulfil it, in full obedience. There may be distractions or temptations that want to lure us away from our focus and we need to stand firm in our faith and abide in the Lord. It is a time of test and we ought to be mindful of it
“Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.”Joshua 8:34-35 NIV
- I read these two verses and think that the Lord had indeed chosen His people for His work. Someone like Joshua is the perfect candidate to lead any ministry. Someone faithful, trustworthy, and have the fear of the Lord.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,”
Luke 2:25, 36 NIV
- these two persons who had no prior dealings with one another waited in the temple to speak to Mary and Joseph. We are not sure for how long they had waited in order to finally see their likely final mission.
- May we too be encouraged during the season of waiting that the Lord knows and He makes plans way ahead of time. We may not know when is the end but it is all within His control.
————————
The Burning Heart
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
March 22
Were not our hearts burning within us? — Luke 24:32
We need to learn the secret of the burning heart. Jesus appears to us, the fires are kindled, and we have wonderful visions. Then normal life resumes, and the flame dies down. The burning heart is a heart that can go through anything, but first we must learn how to keep the flame alive. The dull, bald, dreary, commonplace day, with its commonplace duties and people, kills the burning heart—unless we learn the secret of abiding in Jesus.
If we are abiding in Jesus, keeping him at the forefront of our minds and letting him guide all our decisions, nothing we meet with will be able to kill the flame inside us. But if we lose sight of the Lord, the emotion he kindled when we were close to him will fade. It isn’t just drudgery and duty that can make this happen; it’s our unwillingness to let the emotion have its way.
Much of our distress as Christians is caused not by sin but by ignorance of our own natures. For instance, to know if we should allow a certain emotion to have its way with us, all we need to do is think about the outcome of the emotion. If we push the emotion to its logical conclusion and find that it’s something God would condemn, we shouldn’t follow it. But if it’s an emotion kindled by the Spirit and we don’t allow it to have its way, it will drop us to a lower level. The higher the emotion, the deeper the degradation if the emotion is not worked out in the way God wants.
When the Spirit kindles an emotion inside you and your heart begins to burn, let it burn. Do everything you can to help the emotion along. Don’t build up barriers against it or make excuses about why you can’t follow it, however inconvenient or illogical it may seem. Abide in Jesus, and keep the flame alive.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
We can understand the attributes of God in other ways, but we can only understand the Father’s heart in the Cross of Christ.
————————-
Reflections
The keyword here is actually abiding. I read somewhere that says this, likely from Oswald chambers as well. That if we have a close relationship with God, and if we give Him first place in all the things we do, and if we seek Him first before anything else, we will see His hand in everything and in the lives of our daily living.
For example, we see beautiful skies and nice plants and flowers, they are all made beautiful because they are His creations. We see someone whom we use to hate, but we learn to love our enemies and that hatred turned into love. When we used to be so anxious about anything and can’t keep still, to a point now that we can just sit and be at His feet, enjoying His shalom peace, it is all because of His teachings and His transformation.
There are many things in fact, that the Lord has taught us, blessed us, revealed to us, be with us or even words given to us to speak that is not from us. He has used us as a willing vessel to do His good works.
May we continue to abide in Him just like how the branches abide in the vine and grow even stronger in our roots of faith and see His hand in the many things He chose to reveal to us. May all these good things not be hidden from our eyes and be made apparent as we grow in intimacy with Him.
—————————
Lent devotion Day 33/53
taken from YouVersion, Lent for Everyone
Lent for Everyone is a devotional created and written by N.T. (Tom) Wright. For each day of Lent, there is a reading chosen from the Gospel of Matthew, plus a reflection by Wright. These readings have grown out of a project encouraging Lent reading in Northern England. This is the second in a three-volume series based on the Revised Common Lectionary of the Church of England.
Today’s reading:
Psalm 130
WEEK 5: SUNDAY
The deep distress we sense as we read this Psalm has, paradoxically perhaps, given great hope to millions down the years. No matter how deep we have sunk, no matter what sorrows or tragedies we may encounter, the Psalms have been there before us. Not only do they encourage us to believe that we have not, after all, fallen off the map. They give us words so that, when our own words fail to do justice to our misery, they will do instead.
The Psalm doesn't hide. There's no point pretending, putting a brave face on it before God. (By the way, if you're reading this Psalm today in a bright, cheerful mood, pray it on behalf of the many for whom today is dark and sorrowful.) 'Out of the depths!' That's how it is, for all of us some of the time, for some of us most of the time. Let's tell it like it is.
Worse: the poet has a sense that somehow it's his own fault. When disaster strikes and it's someone else's fault, we can gain some relief by blaming them, perhaps hoping for justice. But when it's my own fault, even in part, the blame turns back on me. That is the road to the deepest depths of all, where we are not only miserable but feel guilty. Depression often takes the form, as a medical friend once said to me, of putting ourselves on trial and acting as judge, jury and chief prosecution witness all rolled into one. We then lock ourselves in the dungeon of our own misery and throw away the key.
It is out of that sense of helpless and hopeless sadness that the poem cries out: Lord, hear my voice! Listen! If you keep a record of wrongdoing, we'd all be in deep trouble; but what you offer is forgiveness! That's why we worship you! The news of forgiveness, of a free pardon, is the best news of all. The lock is broken; the prison door stands open; we are free to go.
It hasn't happened yet. The Psalm ends with redemption, forgiveness, still in the future. Yet the strong affirmation of God's forgiving kindness in verse 4 is the anchor which then, despite all, holds us upright. Then it's a matter of hope and patience: 'waiting', three times repeated in verses 5 and 6, is where it's at. 'Lord, give me patience,' says the T-shirt, 'and I want it right now!' But what matters here is the waiting, the settled concentration on God's word which alone assures us that there is hope because God is gracious.
As we journey through Lent, all sorts of things may have come up to test us, to make us despair. There is some way still to go, but we know who it is we're following. By the end of the Psalm, the poet is strong enough to commend to the whole nation the path of patience he himself is treading. 'O Israel, hope in the Lord; with the Lord there is steadfast love; he has great power to redeem.' He doesn't say what form the rescue will take. He only knows who it is that will provide it.
TODAY
Gracious Lord, when we are in the depths, come to us with your mercy and assure us of your power to rescue. And give us the patience to wait for you to do it.
———————
Let’s pray:
Father Lord, as what many has said, patience is a virtue and even more so while we wait for Your go-ahead. Help us Lord, not to be weary and yet be able to persevere through the waiting season to see the fruit of our labour. For the Lord has promised us that our labour will not be in vain. Thank You Father for being gracious with us and always holding our hands. All praise and thanks be to You Lord. 🙏🏻
Comments
Post a Comment